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INVENTUR FIL UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CRATE Arturo Rosales,

Panama, Panama Application December', 1934, Serial No. 756,336

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to crates adapted particularly for housing bottles in packing .and transporting the same, and has for an object to provide a separator structure for use in the crate by means of which a relatively large number of bottles may be nested and maintained against breakage in a relatively small crate.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a separator structure which is easily mounted in a crate so as to receive alternately the body portions of bottles and the neck portions thereof, and to hold the adjacent bottles in staggered and intertting relation, so that double the number of bottles in a crate may be housed in a crate of less than fty percent of increase in size or volume.Y

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel construction of separator for crates which is composed of ring members and interconnecting web members, the ring members being proportioned to the general size and configuration of a bottle neck and mouth, while the partitions interconnecting the ring members may provide sockets for the body portions of intermediately disposed bottles.

The invention has for a general object to provide a box or crate constructed to reduce the weight and dimensions for economy in freight and transportation costs and to provide a crate which may be secured against theft or pillage wherein the crate may be fastened with a padlock or the like,

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claim .appended hereto.

In the drawing, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a crate constructed according to the present invention, the dotted lines showing the position of bottles therein.

Figure 2 is a transverse section taken through the crate on the line 2--2 in Figure l, the dotted lines showing the inverted and intertting positions of the bottles.

' Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the separator used in the crate, and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view taken through one end of the crate, showing in section one of the bottle neck holders of the separator.

Referring now to the drawing, I I) designates the body portion of a. crate which may be of any suitable dimensions, and is shown ,as rectangular in the present instance. The crate body I0 has va bottom Il, and a hinged top or cover I2 which may be mounted in any suitable manner, such as by hinges I3, to the body I0, and may be secured by a padlock or any other well-known meansk to prevent .access to the interior of the crate when closed and fastened.

As shown to advantage in Figures 2 and 4, the crate body III may be made in spaced upper and lower sections, and within the lower section is positioned a separator which is preferably spaced .above the bottom II a distance depending upon not only the depth of the crate body I0, but also upon the structure or configuration of the bottles to be placed in the crate.

As shown rto advantage in Figures 3 and 4, the separator comprises vertically spaced apart bottle neck rings I4 and I5 which may be constructed of sheet metal, paper, ber, or any other suitable material. The upper ring I4 is the larger ring, so as to t the base of the neck of the bottle, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, while the lower ring I5 is preferably ilanged or tapered inwardly to provide an inner marginal portion of less diameter than the corresponding portion of the upper ring I4. The lower ring I5 is adapted to receive the mouth of the bottle therein, so as to assist the top ring I4 in holding the bottle against tilting or displacement during the handling of the crate. The rings I4 and I5 are provided with radial or spider arms I6 which are preferably of channel shape, and the arms I6 .are disposed in pairs with one arm of each pair vertically aligning with a lower arm, and the open sides of the channel arms IB face each other to support therebetween webs or partitions I'I which may be of any suitable material for interbracing the rings I4 and I5 and cooperating with the arms I6 to hold the ring sets in desired spaced apart relation. The webs and arms are proportioned so as to provide substantially rectangular spaces between the ring sets for the accommodation of the body portions of the bottles. Of course, the spaces between the webs I1 may be varied in size and configuration to accommodate bottles of various dimensions and exterior shapes by merely changing the angular relation of the arms I6 and webs I'I about the ring sets I4 and I5.

The webs I'l may be of a depth sufficient only to space apart the rings I4 and I5 substantially equal to the necks of the bottles, While, of course, with bottles of longer necks than are shown in the drawing, ample space is provided beneath the near the tip of the bottle. ranged within the web enclosing iianges of the lower rings I5 to allow the mouths of the bottles to more nearly approach the bottom II, and also project upwardly toward the top 12 a proportionate distance.

It is essential only to have one separator disposed about two-thirds of the distance toward the bottom of the crate body I0, as this admits of the quick and easy positioning and removal of the bottles through the top of the crate when the cover I2 is opened. Y

While the webarms I6 are disclosed as comprising spiders projecting substantially radially from the respective rings I4 and I5, these arms may be otherwise constructed, although the manner illustrated obviates additional steps in assembling the parts as the lateral flanges of the arms may be merely stamped from the blank structure and bent inwardly to engage the opposite sides of the webs I'I as clearly shown in Figure 3.

In the drawings, particularly in Figure 2, the relationship of the bottle in respect to the neckholding piece I5, is shown, i. e., the cap or cork is shown exposed beyond the ring I5. In consequence of such adjustment between the ring I5 and the tip of the bottle or its neck portion, the bottles would be closer together than actually shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the drawing. Also in certain cases, the upper tier of bottles would contact with the cover I2, all this depending upon the needs of the user. From the foregoing, it will be seen that the essential feature consists-in having the tops or corks or caps or neck portions of one series of bottles engaging certain openings I4 of the basket, whereas the other openings I6, I'I, of the basket, are engaged by another series of bottles and by the body portions of said bottles, as clearly shown in the drawing. In view thereof, a very close and compact arrangement of bottles is provided, as shown they are placed in opposite directions and held in position against wabbling.

It will be noted that the improvement consists in a crate having an enclosing box with a bottle separator therein, which bottle separator comprisesY two parallel grids each having bottle neck enveloping rings I4 and I5 held together by arms I 6 having web enclosing ilanges IGa, with the rings of each grid disposed in registration with each other, the ringsv I 5 of one grid having openings of smaller diameter than the diameter of the openings of rings I4 of the other grid. The larger ring I4 has a diameter substantially equal to that of the bottle where the neck merges into the body of the bottle and the smaller ring I5 has a diameter substantially equal to that of the neck,

The webs II are ararms I5 and these webs separate the two grids from each other. These webs II form a square having a length and breadth substantially equal to the diameter of the body portion of the bottle intended to be placed therein. By this arrangement when the crate is placed Within a box with or without a cover, the crate is adapted to receive a first series of bottles resting on the bottom of the box in upright position within said squares formed by the webs and the crate is adapted to receive intervening this first series of bottles in reverse position with the tips of the bottles extending through the smaller rings I5, but out of contact with the bottom of the box. These reverse positioned bottles form what might be called the second series. When these two series of bottles are thus placed in position as described, the adjacent bottles are so near to each other that they almost contact, i-n that the rings I4 can necessarily be made so narrow that they require the minimum of space between adjacent upright bottles and those in reverse position thereto without the bottles however contacting with each other. By the formation of a crate of this kind, it can be readily inserted into a box. 'I'he crates can be built having different sized rings I4 and I5 to adapt themselves to different sized bottles, and whatever diameter is given to the rings I4 or I5, the arrangement of the parts of the crate just described enables it to take up the minimum of space between the bottles placed therein as described.

It is apparent that by the peculiar position and construction of this separator the bottles may be placed reversely and alternately in position in the crate so that advantage is taken of the curvature or aring of the bottle necks to at least partially overlap or interflt the bottles in nested position in the crate. Thus the crate contains substantially twice the number of bottles of an ordinary crate, and at the same time houses and main- 2 -tains sealed this double number of bottles in a crate which is only slightly increased in depth.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above speciiically described embodiment of this invention without departing from thespirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claim.

What is claimed isz- In a crate having an enclosing box, a bottle separator comprising two parallel grids each having bottle neck enveloping rings held together by arms having web flanges, the rings of each grid being in registration with each other, with the rings of one grid having openings of smaller diameter than the diameter of the openings of the other grid, each larger ring having a diameter substantially equal to that of the bottle where the neck merges into the body of the bottle and vof bottles resting on the bottom of the'box in upright position and held within said squares by the outer periphery of the rings and out of contact with the webs, and to receive a second series of bottles in inverted position with the tips of the bottles extending through the smaller rings but out of contact with the bottom of the box,

with the minimum of space between the iirst and vsecond series of the bottles.

ARTURO ROSALES'. 'i 

